MGF Reviews Witchdoctor – The Diary of an American Witchdoctor

Reviews


Witchdoctor – The Diary of an American Witchdoctor
Williams Street Records (10/23/07)
Hip-hop / Rap

Erin “Witchdoctor” Johnson has never had a chance to shine on the world (or commercial) stage. Despite recording with OutKast and Goodie Mob over the years, he’s long been relegated to the backhanded praise of “slept-on” status. To his credit, he’s stayed true to his Atlanta roots and released several independent albums with a distinct Southern flavor (the good kind of flavor, like cheese grits, not the bad kind like Lil’ Jon). Late last year, he reached an apex in popularity when he signed with Williams Street Records (affiliated with the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim brand) and toured with Ghostface Killah on the Adult Swim College Tour.

The Diary of an American Witchdoctor is a collection of mostly previously released material and serves as a re-introduction of sorts. “Just Like You” has a strong foundation built atop an understated piano/drum beat. Its message of “I might be different, but I’m just like you” is capable of resonating on more than a music level, too, so it’s a good choice to get things started.

Unfortunately, that’s one of the only notable moments on this album. “Suicide Bomber” is solid enough lyrically, but is marred by an absurdly lumbering hook and an out-of-place beat. Meanwhile, “Spell on Them Hoes” is right off the misogynistic assembly line that shows Witchdoctor might not be so “different”, after all.

Things pick up a bit on “Treasure Chest”, as the song’s materialism is nicely balanced with the actual struggle to get said goods and a passing reference to God’s influence. Christ’s pops is also the subject on “Wonderful God”, which isn’t really a song, so much as it’s a minute and 17 seconds of “Wonderful God, yes you is!” Similarly, “Prayer Call” isn’t much longer, but, I guess you could call it deeper.

These moments are so randomly tacked on that we’re left to wonder why he chooses to bother at all. Especially, when Witchdoctor is most animated on gun-anthems “Semiautomatic” and “The Barrel” and the ridiculous ode to money on “Oxygen”.

It’s hard to tell for what audience Witchdoctor is reaching on this album. The beats, on the whole, are pretty nice by themselves, but too often, they don’t feel right with the words. Lyrically, Witchdoctor has his moments, but he’s really nothing special and it’s easy to see why he’s flown below the radar for so long. Quite simply, there are dozens of rappers out there—both more and less known—who do their thing better than he.

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